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[1-News-Head]

[TALENT=Keith]

Questions about the group set up by state Senators to promote their position on the car tax. We'll start with tha
t tonight.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

And we'll hear from the first grader who got left on a school bus Wednesday- -his own account of what happened.
(------------)

[Sports-Head]

[ANCHOR=MIke]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Tonight on News 7 Sports, everything from Tech-St. John's baseball to a 2 year NFL deal for a former Friday Football Extra player of the week.
We'll also check qualifying from Bristol.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
And Pete Shaw is suing the Roanoke Steam for nearly $40 thousand bucks.
(------------)
[WX-Head]
[TALENT=Robin]
[SS=None]

Spring weather will begin the weekend but then...winter temperatures will return...I'll have your complete forecast.....

[Griffith-PAC]

The budget stand-off between the State Senate and the House of Delegates continues tonight, with no apparent end in sight.
The latest exchange involves Salem Delegate Morgan Griffith and questions he has raised about the Senate's approach to the car tax cut debate.
[2-SHOT]
Joe Dashiell is here tonight with more on Griffith's objections and the reaction of one local Senator.
[ANCHOR=JoeD]
[SUPER=@Joe1]

Salem Delegate and House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith is taking issue with Virginians for Fiscal Responsibility. That's the non-profit corporation established by 34 Democratic and Republican Senators to defend their position on the car tax cut.
Griffith says if it looks like a Political Action Committee, acts like a PAC and spends money like a PAC. It should obey campaign finance disclosure laws like a PAC.
[SOT]
[IN Q=If they want to have their own PAC]
((IF THEY WANT TO HAVE THEIR OWN PAC, MORE POWER TO 'EM. I'M NOT CRITICIZING THEIR RIGHT TO GET THEIR VIEW OUT. THEY HAVE THAT RIGHT AND THEY SHOULD FORM THAT POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE TO GO FORWARD.))
((BUT IN THIS CASE, YOU CAN'T SEE WHERE THE MONEY IS COMING FROM AND THAT CREATES A CONCERN.))
[RUNS= :15]
[OUT Q=and that creates a concern.]))
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=JoeD]

Members of the Senate say the group isn't violating state law because it's not promoting a candidate. And Roanoke Senator John Edwards says Griffith's criticism is ironic, after Governor Gilmore flew around the state at taxpayers' expense to press his case.
[2-SHOT]
This debate has some similarities to a recent controversy involving a limited liability corporation established by Republicans including Morgan Griffith.
Though the issues are not precisely the same, in that case, the Attorney General said there were no laws requiring the group to report contributions from political candidates.

[SCV-Protest]

The Sons of Confederate Veterans say they're NOT just worried about the past.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]

They are planning for the future -- when they hope to help elect a governor who will return to the practice of declaring April Confederate History Month.
Jim Gilmore did so last year.
But this year he instead issued a proclamation of remembrance, which honored Union soldiers and slaves, also.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 15:18:36]
[IN Q=This summer, we will hold]
((BRAG BOWLING/SONS OF CONFED. VETERANS: THIS SUMMER, WE WILL HOLD....AND OUR VOICE WILL BE HEARD LOUDLY.))
[SUPER=01-Brag Bowling/Sons of Confed. Veterans;]
[RUNS=:24]
[OUT Q=voice will be heard loudly.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Former governor Doug Wilder says any candidate for statewide office who glorifies Confederate history will be defeated.
Wilder says Gilmore finally got it right.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 01:08:19]
[IN Q=What heritage was lost as]
((DOUG WILDER/FORMER GOVERNOR: WHAT HERITAGE WAS LOST AS A RESULT OF THIS PROCLAMATION? ... AND IT SHOULD BE.))
[SUPER=01-Doug Wilder/Former Governor;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=and it should be.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

S-C-V members today displayed 60-thousand signatures in favor of Confederate History Month on the steps of the State Capitol.
They say the Governor declined to ever meet with them to recieve them.
(------------)

[Comair]

Comair canceled 50 to 60 flights today bracing for a possible strike by its pilots union.
So far, flights to and from Roanoke are still running as scheduled.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Monday]

Negotiators got together today in Washington with a Federal Mediator.
If no agreement is reached by early Monday morning, and the union calls for a work stoppage, the airline will cancel all of its flights.
Comair is urging its customers to call ahead to check reservations.
That number is 1-800-354-9822.
The airline is also asking customers to leave detailed contact information if asked for it.
(------------)

[Child-Bus]

A child's safe return to his family is thanks to a good Samaritan in Montgomery County.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Shawsville;]

Justin Nester, a first grader at Shawsville Middle School found himself alone and scared on a school bus Wednesday.
The seven-year-old fell asleep on the ride home.
The driver, although trained to check the vehicles after a route, parked the bus and left...
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT-5:30]
[IN Q=MY BUS]
((JUSTIN NESTER/LEFT ON BUS; MY BUS DRIVER WAS GONE SO I WAS STUCK ON THE BUS MYSELF. I ESCAPED BY OPENING THE FRONT DOOR WHERE PEOPLE GET OFF AND ON AND THEN A WALKED DOWN A WAYS AND SHE PICKED ME UP.))
[SUPER=01-Justin Nester/Left on Bus]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=ME UP]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

She is a still unidentified woman named Maggie, who with Justin's directions, drove him home.
The school district says they regret the incident and that the driver is under suspension.
(------------)

[History-SOLs]

The State Board of Education has adopted a rewrite of the history and social science Standards of Learning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

Despite emotional testimony on both sides of the issue, the standards make NO mention of the Turks' massacre of the Armenians during World War One.
High school students will still be tested on the issue.
Board members say they can't include every human atrocity in the S-O-Ls.
(------------)

[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[SS=NONE]

Still ahead on News 7, a moonshine pipeline from Ferrum to Philadelphia isn't running as smoothly tonight. Operation Lightning Strike yields yet another conviction.
(//////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Is it time to can...]
((IS IT TIME TO CAN THE BAN? I'M JUSTIN MCLEOD IN PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY WHERE A LOCAL MAN IS LEADING THE FIGHT TO ALLOW ALCOHOL SALES ON SUNDAY. I'LL HAVE THAT STORY COMING UP...))
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=I'll have that story coming up.]
(----------------)

[Sunday-Liquor]

A major change could soon be coming to Pittsylvania County.
A convenience store owner wants to end the Sunday prohibition of beer and wine sales.
Danville Bureau Chief Justin McLeod says county residents may ultimately decide whether the ban should stay or go.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 5:44:20]
[IN Q=Nat sound of cash register]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co.;:00]
[SUPER=01-Michael Estes/Convenience Store Owner;:19]
[SUPER=@justin1;:42]
[SUPER=01-Micheal Stephenson/Sheva Church of Christ;1:05]
[RUNS=1:30]
[OUT Q=News 7, Pittsylvania County]
((((NAT SOUND OF CASH REGISTER))
Business is booming on most days here at the E-Z shop on Highway 58 just outside of Danville.
But on Sundays, the owner says he loses up to two to three thousand dollars a year.
The reason?
Customers cannot buy beer or wine on Sundays.
[SOT 5:37:22]
[IN Q=Traffic wise you just dont]
((MICHAEL ESTES/CONVENIENCE STORE OWNER: TRAFFIC WISE YOU JUST DONT DO AS MUCH BUSINESS AS SUNDAY. BUT FOR THE PEOPLE THAT DO COME IN IF THEY'RE GOING TO STOP SOMEWHERE THEY WANT TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING AT ONE TIME.))
[Runs= 10]
[OUT Q=everything at one time]

At this time, Estes is circulating a petition that calls for the end of Sunday prohibition.
He needs to collect 35-hundred signatures of registered county voters in order to put the prohibition question on the November ballot.
[SOT 5:51:07]
[IN Q=This issue came up once before]
((JUSTIN McLEOD/REPORTING: THIS ISSUE CAME UP ONCE BEFORE BACK IN 1992. AT THAT TIME 54 PERCENT OF VOTERS DECIDED TO KEEP THE BAN. BUT OVER THAT TIME THE POPULATION HERE IN PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY HAS GROWN BY ABOUT ELEVEN PERCENT, MANY COMING FROM CITIES WHERE ALCOHOL SALES ARE ALLOWED ON SUNDAYS.))
[Runs= 16]
[OUT Q=are allowed on Sundays]

Area churches lead the fight nine years ago to keep the ban.
They promise to be back at it again this time around.
[SOT 5:47:07]
[IN Q=Scripture teaches us]
((MICHAEL STEPHENSON/SHEVA CHURCH OF CHRIST: SCRIPTURE TEACHES US THAT SUNDAY IS TO BE A HOLY DAY, ITS SUPPOSE TO BE A SPECIAL DAY DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE WEEK. THAT THAT SHOULD BE ONE DAY THATS SET APART AS A SPECIAL DAY FOR THE LORD.))
[Runs= 11]
[OUT Q=for the lord]

Supporters must get the required signatures by August to get it on the November ballot.
Thats when county voters will decide if church bells and registers can both ring on Sundays.

Willie Mitchell Hale admits he was hauling untaxed whiskey from Ferrum to Philadelphia over most of the last decade or more.
The 53 year old moonshiner told the Grand Jury he'd never been to Philly. In addition to hauling moonshine across state lines, Willie Hale admitted to money laundering and perjury.
He remains free on bond.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Several of the 21 men and women indicted last Summer have already pled guilty. Others are scheduled for trial next month.

[Neely]

A federal judge has accused the government of "misconduct" in the case of former Christiansburg Attorney Keith Neely.
In ruling that Neely is entitled to examine government case files, Judge Jackson Kiser points out how difficult it has been for Neely to gain access to the materials he needs to win a new trial.
Kiser said Neely's "case has not infrequently been visited by evidence of Government misconduct...."
Neely has fought a seven-year battle for access to F-B-I files used to convict him of money laundering and drug running. Now Neely will get to look at some of them.

[Diabetes]

A new test -- is making it easier and less painful for diabetics to check their blood glucose level.
It's called One Touch Ultra -- it's now available in our area.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem]

What makes this test different: It doesn't require pricking the finger, but can be used on the arm which has fewer nerves.
It also requires less blood than other tests, and the results are ready in five seconds.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT18:25]
[IN Q=The other advantage is]
((TIM BROWN: DIABETIC: YOUR FINGERS DO GET KIND OF WORN OUT WITH REPEATED TESTING. YOU CAN NOW LANCE YOUR ARM, YOU CAN LANCE YOUR BICEP AND FOREARM WHICH IS REALLY HELPFUL))
[SUPER=01-Tim Brown/Diabetic]
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=really helpful]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

And Brown says this test is less painful.
Diabetes Educators hope that it will encourage more people to test themselves regularly.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT21:56]
[IN Q=Blood glucose testing is not any]
((STEPHANIE MCCAULEY/LEWIS GALE MEDICAL CENTER: BLOOD GLUCOSE TESTING IS NOT AN EASY THING TO DO OR FUN THING TO DO AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WHEN THEY DO GET RESULTS THEY ARE ACCURATE. AND THIS PRODUCT IS VERY ACCURATE))
[SUPER=01-Stephanie McCauley/Lewis Gale Med. Ctr.]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=very accurate]
(----------------)

The test costs about 65 dollars and is available at local pharmacies.
(------------)

[Cemetery-Station]

In a place that commemorates and honors the dead, a long-dormant building is being given new life.
Steve Smallshaw takes us to Lynchburg's oldest burial ground where visitors are discovering more than just headstones.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=A year ago]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-John Cesafsky/Reconstruction Expert; :18]
[SUPER=@ssm1; :42]
[SUPER=01-Jane White/Southern Memorial Association; 1:02]
[RUNS=1:24]
[OUT Q=News7, Lynchburg.]

(( A year ago, this century- old train station was rotting away in an Amherst County cornfield.. now it's about to become the latest attraction in Lynchburg's Old City Cemetery.
The station was taken apart board by board and shipped here to be reassembled near existing railroad tracks.. all under the watchful eye of John Cesafsky.
[SOT 12:34:58]
((JOHN CESAFSKY/RECONSTRUCTION EXPERT: LIKE I SAY IT'S PART OF A PUZZLE THAT KIND OF UNFOLDS AS YOU GO ALONG. YOU FIND THAT THERE'S A WHOLE STORY BEHIND ALL OF THIS TOO THAT YOU KIND OF LEARN AS YOU GO ALONG, SO IT MAKES IT MUCH MORE INTERESTING.))
[RUNS= 10]
[OUT Q=much more interesting.]
[natsot 12:28:32]
((THERE WERE TWO POTBELLY STOVES EVIDENTLY.. ))
[RUNS= 03]

Jane White hopes cemetery visitors agree.
When it's finished, the station will feature a baggage room, waiting area and ticket counter.. all furnished with World War One-era memorabilia.
[Standup ]
((Of course the peaceful setting of a cemetery might seem a strange place to put a train station.. especially when you consider there never was a depot here. But the railroad played a big part in the lives of many of the people who are buried here.. they built it, they rode it and they worked on it. Jane White says she needs this station to help tell their stories.))
[RUNS= 19]
[OUT Q=tell their stories.]
[SOT 12:42:21]
((JANE WHITE: IT'S SORT OF A PROBLEM FOR US TO MAKE PEOPLE REALIZE THAT IT'S NOT A SAD PLACE, IT'S A PLACE FULL OF LIFE AND BEAUTY, IT'S WELCOMING, IT'S DIFFERENT FROM ANY CEMETERY.. SOME PEOPLE LIKE MEDICAL HISTORY, SOME LIKE RAILROADS, SOME LIKE TREES AND FLOWERS.. WE TRY TO OFFER A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING.))
[RUNS= 22]
[OUT Q=bit of everything.]

Steve Smallshaw, News7, Lynchburg.))

[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Coming up tonight on News 7 Sports the Steam and Pete Shaw are at odds.
Mark Martin wins the pole at Bristol.
We'll chck some area college softball and baseball.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Plus, Tech's Shayne Graham signs a new NFl deal.
Details are on the way.
(------------)

[S-Shaw]

The Roanoke Steam is preparing to open its season on April 7th, but this afternoon the team was hit with a civil law suit filed on behalf of former coach Pete Shaw.
Shaw and his attorney Charles Dorsey filed the suit in Roanoke City Circuit Court seeking a settlement of just under $40 thousand dollars.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last Season; :00]
Back in August of last year, Shaw's head coaching tag was removed and he was named the team's Vice President of football.
Then on January 29th of this year, Shaw was asked to step down from that role, as well.
Shaw contends a breach of contract caused him to lose nine months worth of his $43 thousand dollar a year salary.
The Steam and principle owner Dick Yancey were named as defendant's in the suit.
Steam management could not be reached for comment.
(------------)

[S-Express]

The Express begins a three games in three nights run tonight in Wheeling. Of the three teams Roanoke plays, Wheeling could be the most dangerous.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="]
[SUPER=01-Troy Lake/Express Forward; :00]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=dangerous as well"]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
The Express battles Toledo Saturday. The last time they met, Roanoke won 6-nothing.

[S-Shayne]

Former Friday Football Extra player of the week Shayne Graham is back in the NFL picture.
The all-Big East performer from Virginia Tech, who was cut by the Saints in the preseason last year and never picked up by any other team during the regular season, just signed a two year contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="It's a 2 year...]
[SUPER=01-Shayne Graham/Signs With Seahawks; :00]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=...NO MONEY:]
(------------)
[VO-NAT CON'T]
After hanging around Tech much of last fall, Shayne has most recently been living in Northern Virginia, working two part-time jobs, finishing up his degree via the Internet and giving kicking lessons on the weekend.
Through it all, he never doubted his ability to kick in the NFL.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="It's defintely...]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=...have faith."]
(--------------)
[TALENT=MIKE]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD SHAYNE]
Shayne just went through a four day mini-camp with the Seahawks. His next move is a big one - literally packing up his belongs and finding an apartment in Seattle.

[S-Tech]

The Hokies baseball team hosted St. John's this afternoon in a Big East Doubleheader.
The Red Storm won the first seven inning game 2 to 1.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/Hokies vs Red Storm; :]

Winter coats were still the attire as a cold breeze kept temptures at English field in the low 40's.
But the Hokies warmed up in the second game of the doubleheader. In the bottom of the second with the bases loaded Jed English hits a high hopper over third base two runs cross the plate and Tech lead by a score of 3 to nothing.
[SUPER=34-Virginia Tech/19/St. John's/6/;]

Tech would score 5 runs in the first. Ryan Murphy hits a grounder to right field Jed English rounds the bases to score to make it 4 to nothing and Tech goes on to win it 19 to 6.
(------------)

[S-softball]

The Roanoke College softball team took on Methodist this afternoon in the 2001 East Coast College Fastpitch classic at Moyer Sports Complex in Salem.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem;]

The Maroons Sonya Hylton steps up to the plate and sends a high fly ball to center field. Crystal Hileman rounds third base scoring late in the game for Roanoke.
Then in the bottom of the eighth inning watch Roanoke ace pitcher Amy Layman show her stuff at the plate, [SUPER=34-
Roanoke/5/Methodist/4;] connecting on this hit down the third base line. Sonya Hylton is going to score and we are tied at 4 all.
A few batters later Holly Morris brings in Layman with this base hit and Roanoke goes on to win 5 to 4.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Mike]
Action continues all day saturday with the championship game hitting the diamond at 4:30.[graphic=hold softball]